Type: Press

Dublin Labour Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has again called for a Northside Commission to be set up following the latest fatal shooting in Coolock on Sunday. Senator Ó Ríordáin said: “This shocking murder in Coolock looks to be the fifth killing in the ongoing drugs feud in the area that’s growing increasingly violent and brazen….

Labour Party Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has called for stronger advertising regulation of private health providers. Deputy Kelly said: “As winter sets in we are beginning to be bombarded with advertisements for private hospitals. Ads on the radio constantly push private hospitals and clinics, claiming “because YOU deserve better”. Who exactly deserves better? Do…

Labour By-Election candidate for Cork North Central, Cllr John Maher, has said the Government is consistently failing to get the trolley crisis in Cork under control, as the latest INMO figures show 54 people are waiting on trolleys in CUH today alone. Cllr Maher said: “The latest figures from the INMO show that yet again,…

A Labour Party Bill designed to reform the way wages are set in low paid sectors of the economy will be debated in the Seanad tomorrow. The Industrial Relations (Joint Labour Committees) Bill 2019 seeks to reform the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) system by giving new powers to the Labour Court to set binding rates…

Commenting on Túsla figures that show over 200 parents being issued with legal proceedings because of poor school attendance by their children, Labour Education spokesperson, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, has said Government must enact his Bill to tackle school absenteeism from a younger age. “Over 18 months ago the Government accepted my Bill to ensure children…

Labour spokesperson on Housing, Jan O’Sullivan TD, has expressed deep concern about the findings of a Royal College of Physicians report on the impact of homelessness on children, and called on the Government to progress the Labour Party’s Homeless Families Bill. Deputy O’Sullivan said: “With more research being carried out into the impact of homelessness…

Labour Party Transport spokesperson, Senator Kevin Humphreys, has called for urgent action  to be taken to improve air quality in Dublin, raising in the Seanad today the need for local authorities to devise plans to plans to fight emissions and protect the people and air quality of Dublin. Senator Humphreys said: “Dublin is undoubtedly one…

Speaking in advance of the final debate on the Finance Act, the leader of the Labour Party, Brendan Howlin TD, said that the Government’s decision to raise VAT on food supplements showed disregard for small family-run businesses that are among the few remaining shops in small towns and villages across the country. Deputy Howlin said:…

Labour Lucan Cllr Joanna Tuffy has criticised the Government for the failure to control gangland crime following the spate of shootings in local housing estates where young families and children live, and the shocking burning of a man in a car last night whose life was violently taken. Cllr Tuffy said:“The discovery last night in…

“I am absolutely disgusted that SF & FG are colluding to derail struggling families’ opportunity to avail of affordable rental homes on O’Devaney. “It is in the Minister’s gift to produce an affordable rental scheme that will work to reduce rental costs and takes into consideration the lifetime of the units rather than the loan…

Speaking in relation to the threat to key Galway 2020 events, Cllr Niall McNelis, Labour spokesperson on tourism said that Galway City Council has the solution at its fingertips, as joint owner of IPB Insurance mutual, and should take immediate action. Cllr McNelis said: “I understand that Galway Community Circus has cancelled its classes for…

Labour Party Dublin City Councillor for the North Inner City, Joe Costello has said Minister Eoghan Murphy’s questioning of the deal with Bartra to build 824 housing units in O’Devaney Gardens is unacceptable. Councillor Costello said: “The deal was negotiated between Bartra and Dublin City Council at the behest of City Councillors on the Dublin…

Labour Party by-election candidate for Fingal, Councillor Duncan Smith, has called on management at SK Biotek to return without preconditions to the WRC. Councillor Smith said: “I have visited the SK Biotek picket line on Watery Lane in Swords several times now to meet the Biotek workers who are currently locked out of their workplace…

Speaking in response to the ten proposals of the Youth Assembly that met in Dáil Éireann today to discuss action on climate change, the Labour Party’s member of the Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action, Seán Sherlock TD, gave the Labour party’s initial response to these recommendations. Deputy Sherlock said: “The Youth Assembly conducted itself with…

Speaking in relation to Rosslare Port and Brexit, the Mayor of Wexford and Labour Party by-election candidate for Wexford, Cllr George Lawlor, said that the Government has allowed Rosslare to go backwards while Dublin Port is over-congested in a way that makes no sense. Cllr Lawlor said: “According to Rosslare Port Manager, the port is…

Labour spokesperson on Climate Change, Deputy Seán Sherlock, has commended the students taking part in today’s Youth Assembly on Climate Change in the Dáil, as showing true leadership on tackling climate change. Deputy Sherlock said: “As a father myself, I think it’s really inspiring to see our young people come out and show such fantastic…

Labour spokesperson on Housing and Local Government and Enterprise and Innovation, Jan O’Sullivan TD, has called for local authorities and ETBs to use their ownership of the Irish Public Bodies (IPB) Insurance mutual to extend cover to community events and festivals. It follows the cancellation of a number of local events around the country over…

Labour Party Health spokesperson, Alan Kelly TD, has welcomed the HSE’s decision to purchase a second MRI scanner for University Hospital Limerick. Deputy Kelly said: “I have engaged in extensive lobbying and have shamed the HSE into putting a plan in place to secure a second MRI machine for University Hospital Limerick. I have been…

Limerick City North Labour Councillor Conor Sheehan has called on the people of the Midwest to come together to fight RTE’s decision to downgrade Lyric FM to Dublin and Cork and close RTE’s Limerick studio. In advance of Fridays special council meeting, organised by Cllr Sheehan, the Labour Councillor said: “I called a special meeting…

Labour Justice spokesperson Seán Sherlock has welcomed today’s Court of Appeal ruling on citizenship. He said that, while the decision did not assist the appellant, Mr Roderick Jones, it did provide much needed clarity on the law to be applied to pending and future citizenship applications, and gave certainty to thousands of people who have…

Speaking during a Dáil debate on the financial challenges facing RTÉ, Labour Limerick TD Jan O’Sullivan repeated her call for Lyric FM to remain in Limerick and warned against having a Dublin-centric national broadcaster. Deputy O’Sullivan said: “I’m really concerned that aspects of RTÉ’s proposed solutions to their financial challenges don’t properly take into account…

Waterford Labour Cllr and Mayor of Waterford, John Pratt has said the Government has failed renters in Waterford, after the latest report from Daft showed yearly rent increases of 11.5 and 5.5 per cent in Waterford County and City, among the highest increases in the country. Cllr Pratt commented: “Rents in Waterford have risen to…

Labour Party General Election candidate for Galway West, Niall McNelis has expressed his concern about the comments of Deputy Noel Grealish in the Dáil. Councillor McNelis said: “Noel Grealish is right to ask the government whether cash transfers abroad are checked for criminal activity. However after his disgraceful comments about Africans coming “to sponge off…

Labour Party by-election candidate for Fingal, Duncan Smith, has said the proposed 40 bed day hospital for Swords will do very little to address the healthcare needs and concerns of people in Fingal. Councillor Smith said: “The proposed 40 bed day hospital for Swords is being hyped up by Fine Gael in this by-election campaign…